This call for papers is for a proposed panel at (dis)junctions, theUniversity of California, Riversideâ€™s 16th Annual Humanities GraduateConference, which will be held on April 3-4, 2009. This yearâ€™s themeis â€œBrave New Worlds.â€

This call is a broad search for papers on the works of the contemporaryAmerican author Mark Helprin, who, despite having won various awards forhis novels and other stories, including A Soldier of the Great War, sadlyreceives relatively little attention from the literary community.Consequently, any and all aspects of Helprin criticism shall beconsidered for this panel. Possible topics include but are not limitedto:

* analyses of individual novels* the trajectory of his oeuvre* his place in the canon of contemporary writers* the Swan Lake series, and his role as a childrenâ€™s writer* issues of genre (magical realism, fairy tale, heroic epic, etc.)* nostalgia and hope* beauty and loss* language and imagery

Please send abstracts of 200-250 words to Susana Brower atsusana.disj_at_yahoo.com or maria.brower_at_email.ucr.edu by February 27,2009. Please let me know of any potential A/V needs; every effort willbe made to accommodate you.